Fox Corporation and YouTube TV announced a new long-term carriage agreement on Thursday night, less than 48 hours before one of the biggest nonconference matchups of the year between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State.
On Wednesday, the two parties announced a short-term extension of the prior deal following a 5 p.m. ET deadline. Without the extra time, Fox’s broadcast network, local affiliate stations and multiple cable channels would have been blacked out of the Google-owned streaming service.
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Fox to keep their content on YouTube TV, preserve the value of our service for our subscribers and offer more flexibility in the future,” the YouTube TV team said in an update to its official blog. “This means that Fox channels, including the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, remain available for our subscribers along with 100+ channels and football fans will not miss any of the action this weekend.”
An extended impasse into this weekend would have meant millions of viewers would have been unable to watch top-ranked Texas take on national champion Ohio State.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The carriage scuffle was over how much Fox Corporation receives from Google to distribute its networks. On Monday, YouTube TV told its customers that Fox’s request for “payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive.” Fox retorted that “Google continually exploits its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace.”
The dispute got the attention of FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who took to X to implore Google to get a deal done before Texas-Ohio State. However, the FCC does not have any direct authority over TV disseminated over the internet.
This was the second time in 2025 that YouTube TV faced the potential of dropping a major programmer, only to re-up in short order. In February, the service renewed its vows with Paramount on the eve of the men’s side of March Madness through CBS.
YouTube TV has over 9 million subscribers, according to estimates from MoffettNathanson.